The Parent Trap
by Heartache14
Summary: Okay, so maybe meeting his long lost twin brother wasn't so bad, and reuniting their parents was pretty cool, and he couldn't even complain about some of the interesting friends he made, but that damn pureblood! Why did he have to be so damn alluring? KxZ
1. Talkative Purebloods

A/N: So, I think we can all agree that I am a horrible douchebag who sucks at updating, but honestly, this idea was too amazing for me to not work on it immediately. For any of you that are waiting for the next chapter of _Mending_, I'm sorry but you're just gonna have to a little bit longer. Yeah, I suck like that.

So, a little bit about this story. This story is based on…The Parent Trap. *awkward silence ensues*

Don't judge me; you guys are gonna love this, trust me.

**Disclaimer:** *glances at volume 13* Nope, still don't see my name up there.

**Warning: **(admittedly, this warning is only present for my internal amusement) Zero-chan in an "omg wtf" situation. Need I say more?

ENJOY!

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><p>Zero Hio scowled at his mother for a few moments longer, allowing the full magnitude of his displeasure to sink in. The silver-haired pureblood tapped his foot against the marble floors disapprovingly, but his mother simply smiled at him gently. Shizuka Hio looked up from her book, purely unfazed by her son's disapproval. "Is something wrong, darling?"<p>

Zero's frown deepened. "I'm not going." The muttered words escaped his lips at he glared at the relaxed woman with burning violet eyes.

Shizuka laughed, a light tinkling sound. "Oh, Zero! You seemed to be under the impression that I was giving you a choice!" She placed the book on the table and stood, smile unwavering. "Now, your cousin should be here within the hour to ride with you to the academy. Have you packed all of your things, dear?"

The vein above Zero's left eyebrow throbbed from irritation. "I said I'm not going! I refuse to be around a bunch of selfish, entitled vampires for the next three years!"

His mother sighed and rested her hands upon the young man's shoulders. Her eyes tinged with regret, and the smile on her face was now one of sadness. "Zero, I'm sorry. I know that other vampires treat you poorly even though we are purebloods, and I admit that is partially my fault. But perhaps things won't be so bad at Cross Academy, hmm? It'll give you a chance to interact with others and get to know new people. Eternity is a long time to be without friends. Trust me on that, Zero." Zero frowned but did not reply. Shizuka sighed once more.

"How about this?" she conceded. "Go to Cross Academy, with an open mind, for one semester. If you like it, you can stay on for three more years; if not, you can come home. How's that sound?"

The teenager stared at his mother for a moment before nodding begrudgingly. "Fine."

A car horn honked outside, and Shizuka ushered her son towards the door as few servants carried Zero's few belongings to the sleek car outside. The long-haired woman embraced her son and pressed a loving kiss to his forehead. "Call me when you get to the academy, and please Zero, try to stay out of trouble!"

* * *

><p>Ichiru Kuran smiled at his older cousin pleasantly. "Thanks for letting me ride with you, big cousin. Dad offered to come with me, but he can be kinda scary sometimes so I didn't really want him to."<p>

Kaname nodded at the silver-haired boy as he crossed his long legs within the roomy confines of the limousine. "There is no need to thank me, Ichiru. I understand that you must be a little nervous about your first day."

Ichiru nodded. "Yeah. I've never shared a room with anyone before, so it'll be a little strange. I hope my roommate's nice."

"I'm sure the two of you will get along just fine."

The limousine rolled to a comfortable halt, and the driver exited and opened the door for the pureblood cousins. Ichiru gasped as he took in his surroundings: all around him, students in black and white uniforms piled out of cars, immediately embracing familiar faces or shrugging off sentimental parents. And in the background of all this was Cross Academy, the buildings standing tall, imposing yet beautiful. It took Ichiru's breath away. There were so many different people before him, so many different possibilities and experiences within those school grounds.

Rather suddenly, he found himself surrounded by vampires, some who he already knew through Kaname, others who were rather eagerly introducing themselves to the pureblood cousins. Ichiru greeted them all with a polite smile – an expression he had learned from Kaname – but he was slightly distracted. His violet eyes roamed around looking for spiky auburn hair and cool icy eyes. Where was Senri?

Finally, lavender eyes landed on a familiar lanky figure, and Ichiru found himself waving and shouting in a manner that would've made his father cringe and scowl. Kaname simply glanced at his cousin with an indulgent smile before beginning the trek to the Moon Dormitories with a few of his close friends and loyal followers in tow. Ichiru ran over to Shiki, a large smile plastered on his face.

Senri and Ichiru were half-brothers, and though they didn't get to see each other much, they were still relatively close. Senri lived with his mother in a different city. Growing up, Ichiru had always been a little jealous of his half-brother because Shiki looked so much like their father. The silver-haired boy simply hadn't inherited the Kuran looks, a fact that'd always made him feel outcasts. He blamed his absent mother for having such dominant genes.

"Ichiru," the dark-haired vampire replied with a blank expression, though Ichiru managed to detect a faint glimmer of happiness in those icy blue eyes. "How are you?"

"I'm great!" Ichiru then latched onto his half-brother's arm and dragged him towards the dormitories, chattering excitedly the entire way. Senri nodded every so often or commented now again, but Ichiru managed to keep the conversation flowing even without much help from the other vampire.

He hadn't inherited the cool Kuran silence either.

* * *

><p>Maria Kurenai dragged her grouchy cousin out of the car, excited and eager as usual. "Oh, Zero, this is going to be so much fun!" she gushed. "I was getting so tired of staying with my parents, not to mention I get to see my favorite cousin every day!" Zero rolled his eyes a bit.<p>

"I'm your only cousin, Maria."

"Semantics, dear cousin!" she declared with a dismissive wave of the hand. "C'mon, Zero, you can't tell me you aren't just a little excited? Like a teeny tiny little excited? There isn't just a _slight_ thrum of eagerness in that cold icy fortress called your heart? Tell Maria-sama the truth, Zero-chan!"

Silver lilac eyes twitch in barely repressed annoyance. "Cold icy fortress?" he repeated, thoroughly insulted. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?" he gripped as he linked arms with his cousin and proceeded towards the imposing Moon Dormitory. "And why the hell did you refer to yourself as Maria-sama?"

Maria shrugged at the final question. "Just felt like it. And let's face it: your heart is like a cave of solitude or something. Cold, hard, seemingly impenetrable with a small warm fire on the inside, that no one but the few people you love knows exists! But someday, a brave contender will appear, arrogant and willful enough to tame the wild beast of your heart, Zero! And that burning fire will grow into something larger until there is no longer a hard, icy barrier!" Maria proceeded to pump her fist in a very dramatic manner.

"So, not only is my heart an igloo, it's also some evil monster and a wild, uncontrollable forest fire. Thanks, Maria; thanks a lot."

"You're quite welcome, Zero-chan!"

The silver-haired boy rolled his eyes once more as they passed through the gates of the Moon Dorm and strode up the steps to the large ornate doors before them. Zero hiked his duffle bag onto his shoulder more securely. Almost magically, the doors swung open without a touch from either of the silver-haired teens, garnering a shared glance between the two cousins. Together they stepped forward, Zero's strong pureblood aura directing curious gazes in their direction.

Maria and Zero stood in the doorway staring at the vampires, and the vampires stared back. No one moved for a moment, but finally someone cleared their throat and the cousins fully entered the lobby of the dormitory. A girl with long brown hair came stampeding down the stairs and threw herself at the female of the two. "Maria-chan!" she yelled.

"Yuki-chan!" Zero raised an eyebrow, partly at the mystery girl's strange aura – she felt like a pureblood, but there was something different about it – and partly at her surprisingly cheerful demeanor. Zero excused himself, promising to meet up with his cousin later before heading upstairs to find his room.

KxZ~KxZ~KxZ~KxZ

Kaname exited his private suite – unlike his younger cousin, he had no desire whatsoever to share a room with anyone – after unpacking and strode down the hallway under the pretense of checking on his cousin and seeing if his sister had arrived. Admittedly, if he wanted to do the latter, he need only to hone in on her familiar aura, but Kaname was quite curious to explore the newcomers he'd heard entering just downstairs. The two unfamiliar vampires had auras that were faintly similar to a woman his uncle used to be associated with years ago, but the pureblood found himself unable to put a name or face to the person.

As he approached the stairs, a familiar shock of silver hair had just reached the landing. Kaname smiled gently, prepared to greet his cousin, but was soon silenced. The aura of the person before him was strong and willful, quite unlike the calming one of his little cousin. The silver hair was also shorter than Ichiru's, just slightly kissing the nape of the boy's neck. Those lilac eyes, tinged with flecks of silver, were burning and defiant, particularly when they glanced in Kaname's direction. Over all, the pureblood in front of him was…delicious.

Of course, Zero mistook Kaname's carefully veiled leering as a glare and quickly narrowed his eyes angrily. "What are you looking at, pureblood?" the younger teen growled. Even his voice intrigued Kaname; it was low and annoyed but almost melodious.

As delighting as the boy was both to Kaname's eyes and mind, most prevalent in the older vampire's thoughts was the undeniable resemblance he bore to his cousin. The same hair, the same eyes, the same height, the same build – it was almost as though they were…twins. This sudden development was certainly interesting, and Kaname swore to himself that he would look into it later. In the mean time, he smirked at the shorter boy. "Nothing at all." At with that, the vampire prince gracefully slipped down the stairs.

Zero stared after the brunette, still thoroughly pissed off at the way that creep was looking at him. This was exactly why he didn't want to come here! A bunch of self-entitled vampire assholes looking down at him just because he was a Hio! They all thought they were so much better than him, and it pissed him off to no end! As he stomped down the hall to his dorm room, he couldn't help but continuously recall that mysterious pureblood. Conceited bastard! _How dare he smirk at me like that! I swear, the next time I see him, I'm gonna punch his face in!_ Zero slammed the door open with such force that it banged against the wall, startling the figure that was partially under one of the massive queen-size beds. Zero couldn't see the other teenager, as his upper torso was hidden under the bed as he frantically reached for something.

With yet _another_ annoyed sigh, the silver-haired teen trudged over to his bed and tossed the duffle bag onto the plush surface. He eyed the parted curtains of the canopy disdainfully. _This has got to fucking go_. Zero felt the vein in his forehead throb, generally pissed at the world around.

"Aha! Got it!" the voice of the person beneath bed called triumphantly as they finally stood up. Zero turned around at the same moment the other did. The teen in front of him held his cell phone in one hand and had a victorious grin on his face, though the expression soon faded as soon as they made eye contact. For a wild moment, Zero thought he was looking in a mirror, but he soon shrugged that theory aside – after all, his hair hadn't grown in the past three hours, and he sure as hell wasn't wearing that lame ass button down shirt when he left the house this morning. Neither spoke at first, choosing to simply stare at each other with wide disbelieving eyes. At least they opened their mouths and blurted in unison:

"Holy fucking shit."

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><p>AN: Ahh, this was too much fun to write. Seriously, why am enjoying this fic so much? I think I'm gonna start on the next chapter after this.

**PLEASE REVIEW!**

SEE YA NEXT TIME!


	2. Perverted Purebloods

A/N: At last, a new chapter! I didn't update quite as quickly as I had planned to, and this chapter didn't turn out _quite_ the way I wanted it to, but it's okay. I'm actually pretty excited about the next chapter, though, because that's when all the fun stuff happens.

**Disclaimer: **Heartache-sama does not own Vampire Knight!

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><p>Ichiru blinked at his doppelganger and hesitantly poked the other boy's nose. Clearly this was some sort of illusion or joke or something. Maybe Yuki was playing a prank on him? Admittedly, hiring some guy who just so happened to look like him to pose as his roommate was a little random and overly elaborate, but Ichiru really didn't think his cousin above or beneath such insanity.<p>

Zero felt his eye twitch as the teen in front of him tugged at his hair and continuously poked his face. What the hell was this guy's problem? Sure, it's a little weird to be staring at an exact replica of yourself, but was all this touching really necessary? It was in that moment that Zero firmly determined that any slapping of stupid silver-haired pureblood vampires that may or may not occur in the next few minutes was totally not mean and really shouldn't be held against him.

Finally, Ichiru opened his mouth and asked the question that had been pressing at his mind since he first set eyes on his clone. "Why do you have my face?"

Zero blinked then reached out and smacked Ichiru across the back of his head. If they were clones, perhaps Ichiru was the strange defective model…

Before Zero could present a less violent response, Ichiru spoke up. "Oh my God! This is so cool!" he squealed. "So, are you like my clone from the future? And you time traveled to warn me that I have to save the world? Oh! Wait, wait, no! I totally got it! You're my long lost brother! This is like a soap opera! I can't believe I have a brother! I mean, I already have Shiki, but he's not all that talkative. It's nice to meet ya, bro!"

"We're not related, you freak," Zero snarled. Ichiru's eager disposition – as well as his outrageous theories – pissed him off to no fucking end. There was clearly a _logical_ explanation for whatever the hell was going on. "Clearly, this is some kind of weird coincidence."

"Hey, don't call me a freak!" Ichiru retorted. "I'm a pureblood, I'll have you know!"

"Maybe if you stopped acting like such a fucking _freak_, I wouldn't call you one! And quite frankly, I don't give a fuck what you are. Maybe your vampy senses aren't tingling, but I'm a pureblood too." Then under his breath, Zero muttered, "Dumbass vampire."

"I can tell we're not related, because my brother would never be such a grumpy asshole!"

"Who the hell are you calling an asshole?" Zero stalked forward until he was nearly nose to nose with Ichiru. Their lilac eyes narrowed into matching glares, and their auras flared sharply, sending a malicious wave of anger down to everyone in the building.

"I'm calling you an asshole, asshole!"

"Fuck you!"

"No, fuck you!"

"I'm gonna fucking kill you!"

"Not if I kill you first!"

* * *

><p>Hanabusa Aido was walking down the hall with his cousin, Akatsuki Kain, when they were hit with a massive wave of staggering energy. "What the…?" Kain muttered as they paused in their tracks. Up ahead, his amber eyes caught sight of the large group of concerned vampires who were hesitantly standing outside of the bedroom door which clearly held the source of the overwhelming angry vibes.<p>

"I think Kaname-sama's on his way," one of the vampires muttered. "He went to see the headmaster so I that's why it's taking him awhile." Collectively, the observing vampires flinched as they heard glass shatter from within the bedroom.

Aido tugged on his cousin's sleeve. "Akatsuki! We should handle this so Kaname-sama won't have to! Ahh, he'll be so proud of me – I mean, us!" The blond exclaimed with tears of joy in his eyes.

"Hanabusa, I really don't think that's a good idea," Kain argued, but Aido was already storming into the room with a determined smile on his face.

KxZ~KxZ~KxZ~KxZ~KxZ~KxZ

Kaname sat across from Headmaster Cross, holding back a mischievous smile. The ever helpful headmaster had been more than willing to give him a list of purebloods enrolled in the Night Class, and considering that only one wasn't related to him, it was rather simple to discover the identity of the feisty boy he ran into back in the Moon Dorm.

Zero Hio, the only known son of Shizuka Hio. The same Shizuka Hio that his uncle Rido had been dating but had mysteriously broken up with exactly fifteen years ago, a year after Zero and Ichiru had been born. Kaname smirked subtly.

A sharp pang broke out across his senses, and Kaname's keen mind immediately picked up on the abrupt flare in pureblood energy. The dark-haired vampire sighed; while this wasn't entirely unexpected, it was a slight nuisance. After all, he still needed to call his uncle and ask about Ichiru and Zero. From his seat in Cross's office, all the way across campus, he could hear the faint sound of shattering glass. Reluctantly, Kaname stood.

"Thank you for your help, Headmaster. Your continued assistance makes my menial role a bit easier," Kaname said humbly, earning himself an ecstatic grin from the chairman. With this, the pureblood made his leave.

When Kaname opened the door to enter the Moon Dormitory, Yuki was already waiting for him, her face a nervous mixture of anxiety and concern. "Kaname, thank god you're here! We have to hurry!" Yuki grabbed her brother's arm and led him up the stairs quickly. The lower level vampires immediately shifted to make room for the siblings, making a clear path to Zero and Ichiru's room. Kaname stood in the doorway, taking in an unexpected sight.

Zero, Ichiru, and Aido were in a screaming match that Kain was vainly trying to stop. Ichiru was telling Aido to mind his own business; Aido was telling him to stop yelling; Zero was threatening to kill both of them. Kain, the beloved victim of circumstance, was the only one who was still calm as he asked them all to shut up as politely as he could.

"Stay out of our argument!" Ichiru blurted in Aido's direction.

"Shut up! Your yelling is going to bother Kaname-sama!" The blonde glared.

"Who gives a fuck about _Kaname-sama_?" Zero complained, mocking the ice-user's tone.

"Hey! That's my cousin you're talking about!"

"Don't you dare speak ill of Kaname-sama!"

"Didn't I tell you to stay out of our argument, you freak?"

"Well isn't that the pot calling the kettle black," Zero taunted as he rolled his eyes.

Kaname simply observed amusedly, and finally Kain interjected once more. "You guys…Kaname-sama is standing in the doorway." Almost simultaneously, three heads whipped towards the doorway. Zero was the first to react, an angry sneer already present on his delicate face.

"You! You're the arrogant bastard that smirked at me in the hallway!"

"Don't call my cousin an arrogant bastard!"

"Yeah, leave Kaname-sama out of this!"

In unison, the silver-haired boys shouted, "Shut the hell up!"

Figuring it was time to interfere, Kaname engulfed the room in a calming effect. It was strong and unexpected, so even Ichiru found himself feeling the effects instantaneously. Zero, however, was much too defiant and used his iron will to fight against it. His glare intensified; already, he was launching into a tirade: "You fucking jerk! How dare you try to use your powers on me! I don't give a fuck who you are!" And on the rant continued. Zero was red-faced from his anger; Aido and Ichiru observed the situation with relaxed smiles; Kain just watched it all, silently wishing that his cousin would perhaps learn his lesson and stop meddling in other peoples affairs. One can only hope.

Kaname found himself rapidly growing irritated with Zero's ire and chose to solve the situation as only a pureblood can – he reached and tightly squeezed a pressure point on Zero's neck, effectively knocking him out.

Kain just watched with bewildered amber eyes as their pureblood leader hiked the unconscious silver-haired boy over his shoulder and carried him out of the room.

* * *

><p>Zero teetered the edge of consciousness. He was only faintly aware of the strong arms carefully lowering him onto a bed. His fists lightly clutched the sleeve of whoever was holding him, resulting in a small sudden intake of breath. His eyes fluttered open a bit, hazily managing to make out a blurry mass of chocolate and crimson. With a hesitant groan, Zero opened his eyes fully, absentmindedly smiling at the person hovering above. However, as soon as he saw who it was, the silver-haired beauty glared and retracted his hand then snapped it forward, his fist nailing the taller pureblood in the stomach. Zero's pleasant grin returned soon after.<p>

Kaname would never admit this, but that punch hurt _a lot_. The infallible brunette simply leaned back and firmly gripped Zero's wrists – clearly, the younger boy was much too aggressive to be allowed free use of his hands. Before the smaller pureblood could yell at him once more, Kaname slapped a hand over Zero's mouth, loose enough not to cause discomfort but firm enough to keep him silent. "Zero-kun, it would greatly please me if you could stay quiet long enough for me to tell you something very important." Silver eyebrows furrowed together in protest; Kaname sighed. "So stubborn," he muttered. "Definitely Rido's child."

Rather suddenly, sharp fangs embedded themselves into Kaname's skin, and the brunette ripped the palm of his hand away from Zero's mouth. Sure enough, two puncture marks were present, and the younger teenager's mouth was lightly dirtied with blood. It was strange, but Kaname found the sight somewhat arousing. Zero looked rather beautiful with his full lips stained red. Without fully thinking things through, the older pureblood licked away the blood that lingered at the corner of the lilac-eyed vampire's mouth. Naturally, the silver-haired beauty freaked out.

"Fucking pervert! Don't do things like that!" he complained, though the blush was evident on his cheeks. Kaname sighed, simultaneously frustrated and endeared by Zero's angry disposition. At last, he cut the other vampire off.

"Ichiru is your twin brother." Well, that shut him up. Of course, this was only a working theory at the moment, seeing as Kaname had yet to actually call his uncle and confirm this, but Zero didn't need to know that.

When Zero finally spoke, his voice was soft and almost thoughtful, a blatant contrast to his words. "I am not related to that weirdo."

"Surely this is a little too convenient to be pure coincidence," the brunette spoke, quirking an eyebrow. He stood, though his eyes never left Zero's face. "You may stay in denial for now if you wish, Zero-kun, but I will make you believe me soon enough. My uncle, Rido Kuran, is your father."

To Kaname's great surprise, Zero laughed, a light melodious sound that calmed him for some strange reason. "Okay, now I _know_ you're lying," the silver-haired pureblood remarked around his chuckles. "There's no way you and I are cousins." Zero sat up, his slender hands pushing at the brunette's shoulders none too gently. "Now get off of me, you pervert. I have to go slap your cousin; he called me an asshole earlier."

Kaname rolled his eyes and resisted the urge to laugh at Zero's blunt demeanor. "I'm going to have to ask you not to harm my cousin, Zero-kun. He may just hit you back."

Silver-haired teenager snorted. "That wimpy kid? He's all bark and no bite." At last, Zero firmly pushed the older male away and stood to his feet. Kaname rose to his feet as well. Rather suddenly, a thin finger sharply poked at his chest, and he stared down at the shorter boy, crimson-chocolate eyes narrowing in barely concealed irritation. A smoldering angry flame burned in those flickering violet orbs. "Don't think I've forgotten, Kuran; you used your powers on me earlier, _and_ you had the nerve to knock me out." His fingers curved up to clutch at the white blazer in an angry fist. "If you try something like that again –

The mahogany-haired male chuckled, patting the top of Zero's head fondly. "Yes, yes, my sweet cousin, I won't do it again." Zero growled and stormed over to the door, slamming it loudly as he left.

* * *

><p>AN: So, chapter 2 has arrived! As I said, not much happened here, but chapter should be pretty fun! I have high hopes about the next few chapters.

SEE YA NEXT TIME!


	3. Annoying Purebloods

A/N: Urgh. I can't even put into words how unhappy I am with this particular chapter. It's so freaking filler-y, and I hate it. Nothing of real plot importance, so just enjoy the slight funniness and Kaname's slightly gushing "Zero's so cute!" thoughts.

Disclaimer: Heartache-sama does not own Vampire Knight.

ENJOY!

* * *

><p>Ichiru was in a very rare emotional state.<p>

He was pissed off.

Of course, he had been angry plenty of times. For example, when his father told him that it wasn't proper etiquette for him to have a roommate, and that just because "that immature cousin" of his "liked to play human", he couldn't simply ignore his pureblood status. Indignant anger rose inside of him at the time, bewilderment at his father's pretentiousness alongside it.

He'd been sad often times as well. He'd had to come to terms with his mother's absence very early on in life. His father had tried his best, and Ichiru had certainly never been without anything, but it never felt as though his father was truly affectionate with him. Every time it seemed as though they had finally reached that closeness, his father's heterochromatic eyes would turn incredibly distant. When he was younger, he couldn't comprehend what he was seeing in his father's eyes, but as he grew up, Ichiru realized that this was the loneliness and the regret. The feelings his father hid with arrogance.

Ichiru had experienced his fair share of happiness too, though. Growing up with his cousins and half-brother had certainly been refreshing. The way they lived their lifestyles was so unlike the older generations; they were almost ignorant of the permanence of their lives, and Ichiru embraced it. He loved the sensation of being a regular teenager. He loved not feeling like not feeling like he simply existed as a means of continuing a pure race. He loved just being Ichiru.

And right now, Ichiru was pissed.

He lay in bed, the long sweeping canopy forming a barrier between him and the world around him. And yet, as the sun tried to force its way through the curtains and as he tried to force himself to relax, he was conscious only of the throbbing pain in his cheek and the other silver-haired boy resting in the bed across from him.

It had only been a few hours ago that stupid, grumpy Zero Hio had stormed into the room and punched him in the face. Zero hadn't stuck around for long after that, turning out of the room just as quickly as he mumbled something about "stupid purebloods and their stupid cousins."

Ichiru didn't bother informing his roommate that he was also a stupid pureblood.

Dinner had been an awkward affair. After desperately trying to finagle a seat as far away from Zero as possible, Ichiru found himself squished between Yuki and Aido, which proved to be its own form of torture. On the other side of the table, Zero was seated with Maria on his left and, curiously enough, Kaname on his right. Ichiru absentmindedly poked at his dinner, watching his cousin and roommate curiously. Their interactions struck Ichiru as a little strange. They seemed to be speaking to each other civilly, though the hesitation and weariness was evident on Zero's face. His older cousin was continuously leaning in and whispering things to Zero, the sort of things that put a startling flush on the angry teenager's face. In fact, it wasn't until Zero stood and declared that Kaname was a "damned perverted pureblood", that Ichiru was able spy Zero's habitual characteristics, though it seemed to be carefully hiding the faintest hint of happiness.

Ichiru was irritated, though he wasn't sure if it was because Zero had insulted his awesome cousin _again_, or if it was because of the commotion that Aido was making about Kaname and Zero's interactions. Hoping that this would dispel his annoyance, Ichiru stood and decided to enact a little revenge on his dearest roommate.

They had matching bruises.

Across the room, Zero laid in his bed in the same position, facing the wall with his throbbing cheek turned skyward. As it was, the left cheek seemed to want to match his other cheek, as it was currently turning red, and it was all stupid Kaname Kuran's fault.

As Zero had discovered during dinner, Kaname was actually really funny. The brunette entertained him by telling him random facts about their tablemates: "There's a lot of unresolved sexual tension between the two of them; I'm afraid that one day I'll wake up to the sounds of them _resolving_ that tension…Oh, she is very talented when it comes to tying cherry stems with her tongue…I'm not gossiping, Zero, I swear…and I'm not stalking these people either; I just know things…"

The pleasant flush on Zero's face increased at the memory. He'd never admit it, but he felt a little awkward. He wasn't used to talking to people his own age, and he certainly wasn't used to talking to people he didn't know very well. As Kaname continued "not gossiping", Zero made a startling realization.

He was making friends…with "the arrogant bastard".

Chagrined, he bolted out of his chair and shouted the first insulting thing that came to mind. Recalling the moment, Zero groaned and rolled over, muffling the sound into the cotton-encased pillow he'd brought from home. There was no way he was using that fancy silky shit that matched the canopy.

"Hey, Zero." Ichiru's soft voice cut through the silence, and Zero ceased his slight smothering movements. He quickly lifted his face from the pillow, silver hair bouncing lightly as he did so.

"Yeah?" Zero replied.

"Wha-what," Ichiru began uncertainly, "were you and cousin Kaname talking about earlier?"

Shocked didn't begin to cover Zero's reaction. Out of all the things Ichiru could've said, Zero certainly didn't think this was one of them. His mind raced a little, rapidly trying to surmise what he should do – Zero chose to tell a modified version of the truth. "He was just telling me about some of the other students."

"Oh."

"Yeah."

The silence washed back over them, but it was awkward now. Both were fully aware that the other was awake, and their sensitized hearing could pick up on the light sounds of each other's shallow breathing. Zero couldn't stand it; his house had never been this quiet. There was always a living element – the sound of his mother's softly singing voice, the occasional turn of a page, a light scratching of an ink pen against paper, the careless footsteps of their maids. Almost against his will, Zero could feel the corners of his full mouth turning up in a fond smile. Suddenly, Ichiru broke the silence once more.

"I've never seen Kaname smile like that." His voice was thoughtful, almost as though he were more so speaking to himself than to his roommate. Though he couldn't see the other silver-haired teen, Zero could hear the faint smile in his voice. The drowsiness seemed to slip in towards the end of his sentence, and a yawn caused his ending words to waver. "I hate you, but I'm glad that you could make my cousin smile like that."

* * *

><p>Kaname Kuran awoke to the sound of shouting. This was soon followed by a quick succession bangs and the screeching of a window being pried open. Several more shouts followed as, two doors down, several items were promptly flung out of the window. The undeniably elegant dorm president wasn't entirely sure <em>what<em> was being hurled out of the windows, though he was fairly certain that he'd seen a gauzy black canopy curtain whip past his own large bay window.

An ambivalent mixture of irritation and amusement flickered through his dark chocolate eyes. Certainly, such commotion was being caused by Ichiru and Zero, and while their clashing personalities were certainly amusing, Kaname sincerely hoped that this would not be the first sound to greet him every night for the next nine or so months. After all, such incidents would get old after the first few days, at which point Kaname would be forced to interfere. The twins would _not_ want him to interfere.

With a deep sigh, Kaname began to prepare for his day. Once dressed, the suave pureblood made his way downstairs to the common area where a large majority of the Night Class awaited. Several of his classmates greeted him with enthusiastic smiles and pleasantries. Already, his sensitive ears could pick up the sounds of eager squeals and enthusiastic cries of the female Day Class students. The brunette released a sigh; it was only the first evening of classes, and yet the fangirls had already assumed their positions outside of the gates.

His mild irritation towards the over-eager Day Class students was slightly quelled by Zero's arrival. The silver-haired beauty was currently trudging down the hallway with his cousin, Maria Kurenai, and he seemed to be quietly complaining about something, if the scowl on his delicate face was any indication. Almost instantaneously, their gazes met, and Kaname couldn't help but stare at those infuriated lilac eyes for a few seconds longer than he should have. A teasing smile curved onto the brunette's face, earning him a startled blush from the younger male. Kaname admired the sweet rose color on Zero's cheeks for a moment before turning to greet his sister and silver-haired cousin.

Yuki was oblivious to the attractive glance that her older brother had directed at Zero, but Ichiru wasn't. He rose a thin silver eyebrow at his cousin questioningly but merely received an enigmatic smile in return. Ichiru didn't have the opportunity to directly question Kaname at the moment, though, as their classmates were already beginning to exit the dormitory.

It wasn't until they were in the courtyard and approaching the slowly opening gates that Ichiru noticed the high-pitched squeals that were being emitted from the other side of the gate. The sound was alarming and incredibly loud, but most of his classmates seemed oblivious to it. The young vampire saw the faintest hint of annoyance on their faces, but the only one who appeared to be equally perturbed by it was his roommate.

Yes, the scowl on Zero's face intensified tenfold, and his matching eyes were rapidly examining his classmates' faces for a reaction. His roommate was incredibly tense, teeth clenched tightly. As they finally passed through the gate, though, both Ichiru and Zero nearly stopped in their tracks.

The sight before him reminded Ichiru of one of those zombie apocalypse games he was addicted to. There seemed to be thousands of them, but in reality there were only several dozens. They varied in height, size, and hair and eye color, but the horrifying look of complete adoration was mutual amongst all of them. Some of them held signs and gifts, and they squealed and cried out phrases like, "Wild!" and "Idol-sempai!" For a brief moment, Ichiru seriously considered returning to the dormitory, but the adoring zombies finally noticed him.

_They must have smelled my fear! _Ichiru realized a bit belatedly as a few of the girls practically fell all over themselves to get a better look at them, but thankfully there seemed to be two other students that kept them from getting too close. As he slowly trailed alongside Kaname and Yuki, Ichiru worked to keep the look of complete and utter bewilderment off of his face, but it was difficult. He also made a valiant effort not to make eye contact with any of the girls. Instead, he kept his gaze focused on the academic building at the far end of the path; he couldn't help but listen in on some of the frantic, excited whispers he elicited as he walked by, though.

"Oh my God, are they twins?! They're gorgeous!"

"Aww, he looks so scared! So cute!"

"Kyaa! Look at the scowling one! So sexy!

"We should give them a nickname!"

"The Moonlight Twins!"

Zero was seriously fighting back the urge to hit something, and hearing the nickname that the Day Class girls had given him Ichiru only intensified this urge. Honestly, the whole affair was nauseating to him. He hated the eager infatuated gazes and the high-pitched squeaks. With a sneer, Zero quickened his pace a bit until he was walking next to Kaname Kuran (also known as "the pureblood bastard").

"You neglected to mention the hordes of adoring idiots that would be standing outside of the gate," the silver-haired vampire complained quietly, his expression caught somewhere between a scowl and a pout. Kaname couldn't help but find the expression to be rather adorable, and he chuckled at the sight.

"You seem displeased, Zero. Such a shame too; the Day Class students seem to be quite smitten with you." The teasing words led to Zero leveling him with an intense glare.

"Smartass," the shorter male grumbled quietly. "So, what is this some kind of first night of classes welcome?"

"Ah, if only," the brunette mumbled wistfully as they walked. "Unfortunately, this is a nightly occurrence." Zero didn't respond immediately, and Kaname turned to his walking companion. To his great surprise, the bewildered teen stopped in his tracks, taking a moment to stare at the dorm president.

"Nightly…occurrence?" Zero repeated quietly as Kaname stopped to look at him as well. "You're joking, right?" Kaname chose to playfully wink by way of response, eliciting a keening cry from the girls, before heading into the academic building with the other students.

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><p>AN: Awkward ending is awkward -_-

I'm really unhappy with myself and the quality of this chapter. It started out kind of strong but just sort of flopped towards the end. I was really getting to the point where I just wanted to be _done_ with this chapter. I'm not going to have that attitude with the next few chapters, though. I will genuinely do my best to write a chapter that I'm proud of. You guys deserve my very best, so I'm going to bring it.

I have also followed the very wise advice of some of my reviewers and decided to change the main character settings for this story. I had considered doing it sooner, but I wanted to do once I actually got around to updating.

I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter (at least a little). Please review, favorite, and follow! I'll see you guys in the next chapter.

SEE YA NEXT TIME!


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